The term education is a broader concept with an overall perspective. It possesses a variety of benefits to humans and society. We have already discussed the importance of education. But, before getting insights into the personal and social benefits of education, let’s get a brief introduction to education. What exactly education is?
Education means to train or mold the personality of an individual. It is an act of teaching and focuses on the principles and practices of teaching. It means the holistic development of human beings by acquiring skills, knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes.
It is a life-long process beginning right from an individual’s birth and continues until the end of his life.
Nature of Education
A quick recapitulation about the nature of education is as follows:
- Life-long process
- Systematic process
- Development of an individual
- Education is life
- Education is a dynamic process
- A Bipolar process
- Involves balanced development
- Pervasive
- Modification of behavior
Benefits of Education
I hope you all will agree to the fact that education leads to our life. Therefore, being educated is very necessary for life. We have already discussed many good things about school and college. Coming to the advantages and benefits of education, there exists multiple of them. There are benefits of getting an education to society, diversity, skill development, higher education, career opportunity, etc. If you are searching for the advantages of education, you have come to the right place.
The following are the benefits of education to society and individuals:
Social Benefits of Education
Let’s find out – how does education benefit society. Keep reading about the benefits of studying in a college.
Globally Connects People
In the new era of the internet and virtual world, digital education plays a major role in connecting people worldwide. All of this happens just because of education. Education fosters connectivity and collaboration across the globe. It also increases awareness in terms of cultural diversity and the worldly affairs of individuals.
Poverty Reduction
The lack of education leads to poverty in our society. But, if an individual is educated, poverty can also be reduced or removed. In developing countries, a lack of primary education creates poverty. To come out of it, children should be educated. For instance, if children have basic reading skills, around 171 million people can move out of poverty. This implies that the 12% poverty rate can be reduced just because of access to education. So, poverty reduction is one of the significant advantages of going to school.
Promotes Equality
Proper utilization of the right to equality and empowerment can be achieved just because of education. When people are educated enough, they can make their own choices and decisions. Even well-educated women can make optimal decisions and lead independent lives on their terms. Access to education gives equal opportunities to all without discriminating based on gender, age, color, and race. As a result, women and girls get more education benefits in their lives.
Promotes Civic Involvement
Education inculcates good citizenship and involvement among individuals. If people are educated, they become more aware of recent events and issues. They perform their duty to vote, which shows their civic involvement in society. Those holding higher education degrees will volunteer more than those just high school graduates. They will also donate more money, and the possibility rises to 3.5 times. Answered – how does education improve society for betterment?
Gender Equality
Education increases gender equality and thereby decreases gender-based violence. There is a high risk of gender violence among uneducated ones. If people are educated, they will become true supporters of gender equality and stop violence. Education teaches moral values and principles to support both genders. In communities where men and women are treated equally, and girls or boys are treated the same, there are no terrorist attacks in girls’ schools or women’s colleges.
Prevents Child Marriage
One of the benefits of education to society is it reduces child marriage. Education ultimately reduces child marriage. Those girls who possess higher or secondary education will have the ability to make the right decision. They would not marry before 18 years of age. In addition, access to education gives girls opportunities to lead independent lives instead of being only a mother and housewives.
Prevents Maternal Deaths
Educated societies witness less number of maternal deaths. Uneducated women are at more risk of dying at the time of childbirth. Educated mothers will opt for better health services than uneducated ones. Lack of Education causes stress among women, resulting in adverse effects during pregnancy and delivery. Hence, educated women and girls can manage their health and personal hygiene to reduce maternal deaths.
Crime Reduction
Education transforms a citizen from uncivilized to civilized. It teaches them to differentiate between right and wrong. Being educated and possessing values like sympathy, love, care, and empathy will ultimately reduce crimes. If a person is well-educated, then he will not indulge in malpractice. A reduction in crimes will automatically cause a decrease in arrests.
Better Healthcare
Education has a significant contribution to improving an individual’s health in our society. The children of educated mothers live a healthy lifestyle than uneducated ones. For instance, their nourishment levels are higher, and they get timely and proper vaccinations and healthy life. So, education increases the lives of children of educated mothers and mothers who possess higher degrees.
Healthier Environment
Environmental factors like pollution, climate change, deforestation, mining, and many more are major concerns nowadays. As citizens of a country, we have to fight together with these issues of the environment. Only educated individuals can do this by putting their knowledge in practical situations or workplaces, leading to a sustainable life. Therefore, education plays a vital role in reducing threats to the environment.
Economic Growth
Education leads to increased productivity, thereby increasing the income rate and reducing the unemployment rate. This helps in increasing the rate of economic growth and stability also. For all this, education plays a crucial role in an individual’s life. No education—No productivity—No income—No Employment, and No economic growth and stability.
Education leads to more opportunities for higher-paid jobs. It depends on the degree of education and sense of accomplishment. Despite being poor, an individual can use education as a tool to fight poverty and lead a better life. A well-educated person can adequately utilize the resources leading to economic growth. He can gain and apply the knowledge of practical life to improve the lives of many others.
Personal Benefits of Education
Getting an education means being a wealthy and good person for society. Therefore, one benefit of a college education is being a self-sufficient person to serve other people.
Healthy Lifestyle
Educated ones enjoy better and healthier lifestyles than uneducated ones. Those with higher education are less exposed to the risk of a heart attack because they understand the importance of their health for themselves, family, and society. Those who possess a graduate or master’s degree are not chain smokers and believe in leading a healthy lifestyle. Educated people go for a healthy routine full of exercise, yoga, meditation, games, etc.
Social Networking
Education has proved beneficial in terms of socializing and networking. Schools, colleges, and universities help students meet and connect with different people. Students build a personal and professional network with like-minded people, mentors, industry experts, and qualified professionals. They socialize with each other and involve themselves in extra-curricular activities also. Education also allows them to become tech-savvy and computer-friendly, through which the chances of global networking increase.
Pursue the Passion
Education leads you to explore your innate capabilities and talents. It helps you to discover your areas of interest. Successfully finding your passion leads a great way ahead by opening multiple doors for you. So, take the benefits of education, find your passion, and follow it with full strength.
Sense of Accomplishment
Education instills a sense of accomplishment in the minds of the students. You get a sense of accomplishment after achieving any degree. It also makes people confident enough and motivates them to lead a bright and golden future ahead. Therefore, people become independent, get high-paying jobs, or start their own businesses to create jobs for others.
Spread Awareness
Education has proved beneficial in overcoming the barriers of superstitions and blind faith. It inculcates critical thinking and reasoning in the minds of people. Through education, awareness spreads amongst individuals to reject all false beliefs. An educated person will never support the orthodox mindset and find the valid reason and fact behind all actions.
Skill Development Benefits of Education
People still question – what is a major benefit of schooling. One of the best answers can be skill development. So when they discuss the benefits of schools to them, the point of skill development can’t be left aside.
More Productivity
Educated people can effectively utilize their resources, subsequently increasing productivity. They become very well aware of how to mobilize time and their talents. They believe in productive work. After attaining some degree, they turn their productivity into employment opportunities.
Better Communication Skills
With access to education, students get better communication skills. They complete their written assignments, do presentations, and participate in group activities, discussions, debates, and public speaking. These skills are taught to enhance their communication skills, plus four basic skills:
- Listening skills
- Speaking skills
- Reading skills
- Writing Skills
Inculcation of these skills will lead to better communication and better life-long opportunities. Thanks to Education!
Critical Thinking
Education brings critical thinking ability to the students. It makes them capable enough to question, act, think logically, criticize, reflect, and reason out. These skills help them in their future tasks and their workplace also.
Identify Inherited Skills
Education helps students identify their inherited skills by exploring their strengths and weaknesses. It makes students capable enough to get insights about new topics and do better in their future life. In no time, students explore their inbuilt skills, which were undiscovered initially. It all happens because of education.
Self-discipline
Different tasks and responsibilities assigned to students during schooling increase their self-discipline. For instance, the teacher selects a class monitor who manages and controls the class when the teacher is not there. So, all these responsibilities help the student manage their time and assigned tasks well, leading to a well-disciplined, prosperous, and successful life ahead.
Career Benefits of Education
Education benefits people in many ways. After getting an education, they can join the corporate sector to get a high salary and live a high-standard life.
Employment Opportunities
Education opens multiple doors to employment opportunities for students. Those who possess a good degree are more prone to good jobs. The unemployment rate is reduced in the case of graduates or postgraduates. Uneducated people migrate in search of a job and remain unemployed. So, education leads to more employment.
Career Advancement
Education molds character and leads to an individual’s overall development, leading to career advancement and success. People pursuing a higher degree are well-equipped with the necessary skills and abilities which help them to succeed. Almost all jobs require a degree in the area of specialization. But, most companies reject the applicant’s resume without any degree.
Higher Income
People who have a degree beyond high school get a high package salary than those with just a high school degree. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that highly educated people do high-paying jobs. In 2020, professional degree holders’ median usual weekly earnings were $1893, while high school diploma (no diploma) people’s median usual weekly was $781. The following graph will help get more stats to open your eyes. You can compare people’s salaries with those with no degree and higher degrees through different job portals. Therefore, education plays a significant role in increasing an individual’s annual income.
Benefits of Higher Education
Who doesn’t know – what are the benefits of going to school? In the same way, higher education brings many changes and leads us to a quality life.
Career Planning
Education plays a vital role in career planning and preparation as well. It develops the individual’s mind and makes him capable of choosing better career options. But, only a high school degree is not sufficient to get a job. A person needs to be a graduate or possess a higher degree to get a well-paid job. So, despite being unsure about your career options, always go to college to develop well-refined skills. It will help you make the right choices by exploring your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis).
Personality Development
Higher education students work upon their personality development, communication skills, logical skills, reasoning ability, time management, etc. These skills ensure their bright future and prove beneficial for their successful life. In addition, college graduates acquire a degree and learn a lot through the experiences they have gone through. So, education plays a significant role in molding an individual’s personality.
Better Communication
Higher education helps students develop their cognitive and interpersonal communication skills. In college, students learn to apply knowledge and think critically to develop a solution for a given problem. Moreover, they are given many presentations, dissertations, and group activities to foster better collaboration and communication skills.
Follow the Passion
A college degree helps you follow your passion and enter the desired field by exploring your talents. For instance, if you plan your startup, you can follow your passion and start a business in your area of interest. In addition, higher education helps you to get more significant insights and deep understanding. Therefore, it will also enable you to make the right career choices.
Social Networking
You can build your social circle during studying in college to make friends forever. These friends will motivate you when you are going through hard times. They inspire you and hold your hands in times of need. Through higher education, you get the opportunity to socialize and learn to live and adjust well in society. This is an integral part of education.
Healthy Living
Higher education degree has some practical advantages also. Graduate people have plans to live a healthy lifestyle, while the society of high school degree holders struggles with many things. Graduates from college are less prone to heart attacks, do regular exercises or gyms, take a healthy diet, occasionally smoke, and live longer. Highly educated individuals also socialize better. They actively participate in political and communal affairs and indulge in charity, donations, and NGOs. College graduates very well know how to lead a practical life.
These are certain benefits of education in various sectors of life. They are essential in all aspects.
Conclusion
Education can be considered a spark that enlightens life with happiness and success. Apart from all the benefits of education mentioned above, there exists a long list. You will undoubtedly find that these benefits are somehow related to each other.
Although the advantages of education are known, there are still many places across the globe where people have no access to education. It is a very heartfelt situation in third-world countries. Either they lack resources or access.
Lack of access to education leads to a problem like poverty, inequality, crime, theft, violence, hunger, greed, and many more. To eradicate these problems, it is necessary to utilize education as a tool.